


And Then I Closed My Eyes, And I Could See You Kissing Me

by brianmaybrianmay



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Arguing, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Getting Together, How Many Miles to Babylon Spoilers, Kissing, M/M, Making Up, Massage, Shotgunning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-31 06:17:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21096164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brianmaybrianmay/pseuds/brianmaybrianmay
Summary: 5 times Billy kissed Steve, and 1 time Steve kissed Billy.





	And Then I Closed My Eyes, And I Could See You Kissing Me

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, hope you enjoy :) I totally wrote this because I have writers block for my other harringrove fic lmao 
> 
> title is from 'the kissing me song' by brian may and kerry ellis

**1.**

The first time it happened, they were at Tina's party.

He had finally convinced Nancy that it would be good for them to go to the party, to pretend that things were okay for a while. Really, he knew that nothing was okay - that Nancy was still torn up over what had happened to Barb and the fact that her parents were still convinced they'd find her in the end. It was a little heartbreaking really, to go to those dinners in Barb's parents house with Nancy and to hear them talk about how they had faith in the fact that Barb would eventually come home.

He could tell it was wearing Nancy down a little more every time, but he just.. what else could they do? It wasn't like they could tell them that their daughter had been killed by a monster. Aside from the fact that it was hardly believable, they had signed non-disclosures for the government. They'd be in serious trouble if they opened their mouths.

So he'd asked her to go to the party with him and thankfully she had agreed. She'd made an effort with her costume too, and he had to admit that she looked cute dressed up as Rebecca De Mornay in Risky Business, with her white sweater. He liked doing couples costumes on Halloween, it was cute.

So they headed to the party that night, and it was actually pretty good fun. Tina definitely knew how to throw a party, and it seemed she knew what she was doing when it came to Halloween parties too. It was bigger than any other get together he'd seen at her house before though, every area of the house as well as the garden seemed to be crammed with drunk teenagers - he didn't like to think of what the clean up would be like in the morning, which was one of the reason's he'd always avoided having big parties like this at his house, despite the fact that his parents were hardly ever home.

He was quite happy to stay out of the limelight though, to just drink and dance with Nancy. He knew Tommy was hanging around somewhere, but he was hoping that he didn't actually run into him tonight, considering there were more than enough people here.

All in all, he'd been having a pretty good night, and he'd sort of assumed that Nancy had been too. They had been standing in a corner chatting though, and when Billy Hargrove had appeared in front of them to just glare at him, Nancy had wandered off. It hadn't come to blows with Billy though, thankfully, and when he'd eventually found Nancy again, she was pretty drunk. Seemed she wasn't having as good a time as he'd thought she had been, and had been steadily drinking away her sorrows or whatever.

He sighed as he found her filling her cup with spiked punch again before necking the contents back, swaying a little on her feet as she did, "Hey.. no, no, no." He told her, trying to take the cup off her. She just made a face at him though before pulling the cup back out of his hand, trying to refill it again, "Get off."

"No, you've had enough, okay? Nance, I'm serious. Put it down."

"Screw you."

"Nance, come on."

He tried to take the cup back off her again after she had managed to refill it yet again, although with the force that she dragged it back off of him, the contents of the cup ended up all down the front of her sweater. It didn't help that everybody stopped to look at the scene in front of them either. He could feel his cheeks burning as he looked back at Nancy, and she was just going between looking down at her stained sweater and glaring back at him, her jaw hanging open, "What the hell?" She muttered before turning on her heel, stalking off towards the bathroom.

"Nance.. Nancy, I'm sorry." He sighed as he followed her. The bathroom door was slammed in his face when he followed her up the stairs, although he let himself in, sighing at the way she was wiping at her sweater with a damp towel, despite the fact that the front of it was stained almost completely red, "That's not coming off, Nance."

"It's coming."

"Come on, let me just take you home, okay? Come here." He murmured, trying to take the wet towel from her, before sighing when she just tore it out of his grasp again.

"You wanted this." She told him, her voice slurred as she went back to trying to wipe the punch off her sweater.

"No, I didn't want this. I told you to stop drinking."

"It's bullshit. Bullshit.."

"No, it's not bullshit, okay?"

"No, you. You're bullshit."

He stopped at that, frowning a little as he looked down at her. She didn't seem to notice his falter though, just went back to trying to clean her sweater, "What?" He asked, his stomach twisting a little. She turned to him at that, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do at the hint of fire he could see in her glassy eyes,

"You're pretending like everything is okay. Y'know, like we didn't.. like we didn't kill Barb. Like, it's great. Like we're in love and we're partying. Yeah, let's party, huh? Party.. we're partying. It's bullshit."

"Like we're in love?"

"It's bullshit."

"You don't love me?"

"It's bullshit."

He really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with that. He'd thought.. God, he knew she was taking it hard, but he didn't think that she'd only been pretending all along that she loved him. Only yesterday she'd been helping him out with his essay in the car, and he'd told her he loved her and had kissed her. So all that had been bullshit too?

Sniffing, he simply shrugged and let her have the towel that she was clinging to, "Right.. whatever." He muttered as he stalked out of the bathroom past her, and if he slammed the door behind him a little harder than he meant to, well then that was just bullshit too. He just.. he couldn't believe this. How much longer would she have strung him along before admitting that she didn't love him? Six months? A year? God.. he hadn't been holding out hope that he'd get into college, but he'd been willing to not even try, to deliberately give that up so that he could stick around for her senior year and be there for her. Would she have just let him do that, knowing that she didn't love him?

Just.. fuck this.

He passed Jonathan on his way out, although he didn't bother acknowledging the younger boy. He couldn't say he was exactly in the mood for standing around making small talk right now. Not that he'd admit it, but he was pretty upset about what had just happened.

It was as he was stepping out onto the back porch that he was suddenly blocked by a figure in a black leather jacket. Fucking.. great. He was really in the mood to be dealing with Billy fucking Hargrove right about now.

"Bit early to be skipping out, isn't it?" He asked as he flicked away the butt of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke into Steve's face with a smirk.

Steve just closed his eyes, willing himself with everything he had to not just deck the guy. He was pretty sure he'd lose if it came to a fight between them, but he just.. he wasn't even a little bit in the mood, and Billy was really testing his patience by even just being there.

"Not now, Hargrove." He snarled as he pushed past him, although Billy caught his arm as he passed, pulling him back towards him.

"What? I'm just trying to be friendly is all." He told him, and despite the fact that his words were polite, the expression on his face was sharp, and Steve knew that he was just looking for trouble. As much as he didn't like to admit it, he was pretty sure that the younger boy would get exactly what he was looking for if he didn't leave Steve the hell alone.

"Fuck. Off."

He dragged his arm out of Billy's grip once he'd spoken, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked back towards his car. He hadn't actually drank that much in the end, so he was pretty sure that he was okay to drive. He just.. he had to get out of here. He'd only go back in looking for Nancy if he stuck around to think about it too much, beg her to let him take her home. He was angry as hell though, and there were enough girls in there that she was friendly enough with that could take her home. Besides, he knew Jonathan was there, and he was pretty sure he'd be more than happy to play the knight in shining armour and bring her home.

He stalked down the street towards where he'd parked his car earlier, glancing back over his shoulder when he heard footsteps, before groaning when he realised that Billy had followed him to his car, "What part of 'fuck off' didn't you understand?" He asked, wrestling his keys out of his pocket.

Billy just smirked around the new cigarette that he'd obviously lit while he was following Steve, shoving his own hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, "I could ask you the same thing, what part of 'I'm just trying to be friendly' didn't you understand?" He asked and Steve just rolled his eyes, throwing his arms up in frustration,

"Why? Why would you want to be friendly tonight of all nights? I'm clearly not in the mood, so just.. get lost."

"You have a fight with princess?"

"I mean it, back off."

It would be so easy to just get in his car and drive off, but somehow he had a feeling that it wouldn't be that easy to shake Billy off. Still.. maybe he could 'accidentally' run him over while he was driving off, he was sure he could make it look like an accident.

What he wasn't expecting though was for Billy to crowd into his space, and he hadn't realised that he'd taken a couple of steps backwards until his back was pressed against the car, and Billy was barely a foot in front of him. Great.. looked like he was getting that fight after all.

"Or what, pretty boy?" Billy asked, exhaling the smoke into Steve's face again. It was.. weird. It didn't seem like the younger boy was looking for a fight, Steve wasn't totally sure what he was looking for though.

When Steve didn't answer, Billy just grinned, catching his lower lip in his teeth as he let his eyes drag down the length of Steve's body before flicking back up to his face, "Good costume, by the way. Looks great on you."

Steve just blinked, his head spinning a little at the way Billy had just done a complete one eighty on him. A moment ago, he'd fully been expecting to get his lights punched out any minute, now.. now he wasn't sure what the hell was happening. If it had been anyone else - literally anyone else - Steve would have thought that that sounded like flirting. There was no way Billy Hargrove was flirting with him though, and so he assumed that he was just winding him up again as usual.

"You really don't know when to listen, do you?" He asked, rolling his eyes as he folded his arms over his chest. Okay so maybe it was a bit of a defence mechanism, since Billy was standing so unnecessarily close to him. It didn't seem to deter the younger boy at all though, who just flicked his cigarette away before reaching up to tug on Steve's sleeves. He wasn't sure why he went with the action, why he let Billy tug his arms down away from his chest, he just knew that he did.. and that Billy kept a hold of his wrists once he'd relaxed his arms.

"Did you and princess break up?" Billy asked, and Steve just rolled his eyes, looking away from him, "We all saw that little show the two of you put on in there, the way she treated you." He said with a shrug, and that caught Steve's attention somehow. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to defend her, not when he was still so angry, but he just.. whatever.

"She was drunk."

"Doesn't mean she gets to treat you like that.. she's your girl, she loves you, everything is supposed to be happy and r-"

"She doesn't love me.. apparently I'm just bullshit."

He could have slapped himself after he'd spoken. He had no idea why he'd told Billy that, why he'd admitted what Nancy really thought of him. Like he'd said though, he was angry, and Billy was right up in his face. It had been a hell of a long night.

Billy just watched him though, something in his expression that Steve couldn't exactly make out. Up close though, he couldn't help but notice how blue the younger boy's eyes were.. bluer than Nancy's.

"You know you deserve better than that, right?"

"Oh, please. What the hell d-"

He was cut off from his question by Billy closing the gap between them and pressing their lips together. For a moment, Steve just froze, his eyes wide. Okay.. that was certainly not what he'd expected to come from this. He'd been expecting a punch, certainly not a kiss. He couldn't help but notice that Billy's grip on his wrists had turned gentle though, that his fingers were no longer holding him hard enough to leave bruises.

After a moment, Billy pulled back, biting down on his lower lip again as he regarded Steve - who couldn't help but notice that he looked a little.. disappointed or something. Maybe at the fact that Steve hadn't exactly kissed him back, that he'd just stood frozen until Billy had stopped kissing him.

He swallowed as he looked over at him, before turning his face away from him, "Let me go, I need to go home." He murmured, trying not to let on that his voice was shaking a little. It wasn't just his voice that was shaking though, he could feel the slight tremble in his own hands, and he just hoped that Billy didn't pick up on it too. It was whatever, it had been a long exhausting night and his head was spinning a little with everything that had just happened.

Thankfully Billy didn't argue, just nodded and took a step back, letting go of Steve's wrists in the process. He shoved his hands back into his pockets once he had, scuffing his boot on the ground, "Yeah.. drive safe." He told him, glancing up at Steve.

He couldn't help but notice that Billy was acting like he was.. embarrassed, or something. It was weird as hell, if he was being honest. Billy was an asshole, a cocky one at that. They hadn't exactly had a lot of encounters before tonight, considering Billy was in Nancy's year in school rather than his own, they mostly just crossed paths in the corridor or at basketball practice. He knew that they didn't get along though, and he knew that Billy was a dick. So just.. this side of him was strange.

He couldn't think too hard about it right now though. And so he just ran his fingers through his hair before he got into his car, trying his best not to look back out the window at Billy as he drove off.

Just.. what the hell?

  
**2.**

The second time it happened, Steve was stoned.

Everything was pretty shitty lately, if he was being honest. Not only had he and Nancy broken up properly, but now she had run off with Jonathan Byers, and he just.. he'd known that there was something going on there. It was whatever though, he was still bullshit, and Nancy had apparently found something in Jonathan Byers that she hadn't seen in him.

His parents were home at the moment too, and they were being particularly infuriating this time. Not only did they keep asking questions about 'that nice girl he'd introduced them to last time', but his dad was constantly on his back about his college applications. His mother was a little kinder on that front, but his dad seemed to only accept two options when it came to his future - either he went to a good college and got a fantastic job out of it, or he came to work for him at his company. He was pretty sure the idea of college was becoming less and less attainable though, and he knew for sure that he didn't want to end up working for his dad. So he'd been doing a lot of thinking recently, and he'd decided that maybe he'd go to the police academy, become an officer. When he'd told them of this plan though, his father had been less than impressed. So obviously that had lead to a fight, and he just.. he couldn't be in that house right now.

So he found himself at the quarry, sitting in the drivers seat of his car with a half smoked packet of cigarettes. He knew his parents would kill him if they knew he was out here smoking, but he just.. it was whatever. He was eighteen, and it wasn't like they weren't fighting at the moment anyway.

Things had been so goddamn shitty for so long now, and he just wasn't sure why he couldn't catch a damn break.

This time last year, everything had been fine. College wasn't something he'd had to worry about yet, he'd been popular in school, he had a pretty girlfriend. And now what? He and Tommy didn't speak anymore, Nancy thought he was bullshit, he and his parents were just fighting every time they came home. So he just.. he wasn't sure what the hell he was supposed to do. Sometimes he thought it would be easier if he was able to just get in his car, drive out of Hawkins, and never look back.

Somehow though, he seemed to have stuck up a friendship with the Henderson kid. The kid was a bossy little nerd, but he just.. they got each other, somehow. He knew the other kids that Dustin hung around with didn't really get how this had come about, but if he was being honest, he didn't either. All he knew was that he actually liked the little nerd. So yeah, maybe everything wasn't terrible.

Just as he was contemplating that though, he glanced up at the flash of headlights, rolling his eyes when he caught a glimpse of the familiar blue Camaro pulling up beside his own car. Of course.. of course Billy Hargrove would have to show up just as he was sitting here contemplating how awful his life was.

"Harrington?" The younger boy called out his window once he had cut the engine, Steve just holding a hand up in a feeble attempt of a wave in response.

That was another thing he had tried not to think about, how Billy had kissed him outside Tina's house at her party last week.. how he had actually looked a little disappointed at the underwhelming response Steve had had to it. He still hadn't exactly been able to wrap his head around what that had been about.

"What're you doing out here at this time?" Billy asked as he leaned out the window of his car.

"I could ask you the same thing." He called back with a shrug of his own. Well yeah, it wasn't like he was the only one out here at this time. Billy didn't answer him though, and he eventually just shrugged, "Had to get out of the house."

"Yeah.. me too."

He couldn't help but notice that, even from this distance, he could see the red mark on Billy's cheek that looked a hell of a lot like a handprint. It certainly wasn't his business to pry about that though, so he just nodded rather than asking about it any further, "You want a smoke?" He asked, holding the packet of cigarettes out his own window. He was pretty sure that Billy would probably have his own, but he just.. he was trying here.

He wasn't even sure why he was trying, Billy was an asshole, but he just.. maybe a truce wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. If he was being honest though, he was still sort of trying to come to terms with the disappointed look on Billy's face when he hadn't kissed him back last week.

Still, like he said, he was trying not to think so hard about it.

"I can do you one better, pretty boy." Billy answered with a grin, holding out a bag full of what was obviously weed that he'd brought with him. Raising an eyebrow, Steve couldn't help but grin back,

"You're on."

"Get over here then." Billy told him, leaning over a little to open the passenger side door of his car.

Trying his best not to overthink it too much, Steve switched off his own engine before getting out of the car, dropping into the passenger seat of Billy's car. If he was being totally honest, he wasn't really sure what he was expecting from Billy's car, he just knew that he wasn't exactly expecting it to be immaculately clean on the inside. Although he supposed the younger boy was always posturing alongside his car in the school parking lot, so he guessed that he was probably proud of the thing.

"You ever smoke weed before?" Billy asked as he rolled them a joint, glancing up at Steve as he licked along the edge of the paper, who just tutted and rolled his eyes, "Course I've smoked a joint before.. what d'you think I am, twelve?" He asked. Well yeah, gone were the days when he and Tommy would hide out up here and smoke together, but they had done it quite a lot back in the day, before their friendship had ended.

Billy just grinned and rolled his eyes in return as he finished rolling the joint, lighting it once he had. He took a deep drag of it once it was lit, holding the smoke in his lungs for a moment before he closed his eyes as he exhaled, tipping his head back as he did. He passed it over to Steve after a moment, fiddling with the knob on the radio to change the station. Steve was barely paying attention to him, too focused on taking his own drag of the joint, before he turned to Billy when the station landed on "Go!" by Tones on Tail,

"Hey, leave it, I like this song." He told him, a hand reaching out involuntarily to still Billy's wrist to stop him from changing the station again. The younger boy just raised an eyebrow in his direction, and so Steve just took another drag of the joint so that he wouldn't have to focus too hard on that.

"Really? Tones on Tail?" Billy asked with a grin, and Steve just shrugged, "It's a good song."

They just smoked in silence after that, passing the joint back and forward between them. It wasn't long before Steve found himself becoming a little more loose limbed, the tension in him that came from sitting here with Billy bleeding out of him until he was basically just curled in the passenger seat, facing slightly in the younger boy's direction. Billy seemed just as relaxed as him, his eyes closed as he leaned his head back against the head rest.

Eventually he turned to face him, biting his lip gently as he looked over at Steve, "So, did you and Wheeler actually break up?"

Steve just looked at him for a moment before he dropped his eyes, nodding a little, "Yeah.. like I said, apparently I'm just bullshit." He said with a shrug. Well yeah, the whole situation still stung. It didn't help that they were just about barely broken up before she had run off with Jonathan Byers. Well.. whatever, it was whatever. Didn't mean that he wasn't upset about it still, but it was whatever.

"Well, you know that's bullshit, right?" Billy asked, and Steve just looked back up at him with a slight frown crossing his face. He was about to ask what the hell that was supposed to mean before Billy cut him off with another question, leaning up a little from where he'd been lying back against the seat,

"Have you ever shotgunned a joint?"

Steve was a little taken aback by the sudden change in direction of the conversation, although he supposed he shouldn't really have been surprised. It seemed to be a thing that Billy did, wait until Steve was pretty sure he was following the conversation before doing a total one eighty on him. He just shook his head though, biting his lip gently as he looked over at Billy, "No, I uh.. no."

Well yeah, it wasn't like he and Tommy had ever decided to give it a go, and he'd never smoked pot with Nancy - he was pretty sure she wouldn't have approved of it, so he'd never brought it up.

"You wanna?"

He knew that the smart thing to do would be to say no. That it was getting late and he was probably better off getting back home soon enough, but he just.. his mind was already foggy enough from the pot they had already smoked, and if he was being honest? It didn't seem like the worst idea. It wasn't like they would be actually kissing, it was just another way of taking a hit from the joint. A better way, he supposed, since it meant they'd both get a hit from the same drag.

It was that logic that had him nodding his head, and he shifted a little in his own seat as Billy leaned towards him. He just watched the younger boy as he brought the joint up to his lips again, taking a deep inhale before leaning back towards Steve while he held the smoke in his lungs again. Instead of just exhaling this time though, he reached out to cup Steve's face in one of his hands, pressing their lips together. Steve opened his mouth against Billy's, breathing in when he felt Billy exhale the smoke into his mouth.

Okay, so it was.. intense.

He shivered a little as he exhaled the smoke through his nose after a moment, his mouth still pressed to Billy's. He pulled away after a moment, biting his own lower lip as he regarded Billy this close up. The younger boy just grinned a little, offering the nearly burnt out joint to Steve, "You want a go?" He asked, and Steve just nodded, taking the joint from his fingers and taking a drag. He did the same once he had, leaning in to press his mouth to Billy's and exhaling the smoke into the other boy's mouth. Okay, so like he'd said, he'd never shotgunned a joint before, but he had to admit that it was actually hot as hell.

Once he pulled back from it though, he didn't get far before Billy caught his face between his hands, pulling him forward again to press their lips together in a proper kiss. He was a little less caught off guard by it this time, considering they had basically already been kissing, but he just hadn't expected the actual kiss, hadn't expected the feeling of Billy's tongue sliding against his lower lip, as though he was trying to coax him into parting his own lips. He went with it for a moment, his own hand coming to rest tentatively on Billy's knee, before he pulled back, biting his lip gently,

"Billy.." He murmured, swallowing a little as he looked over at him. He couldn't help but notice that the other boy was a little glassy eyed, and his tongue darted out to wet his lips before he spoke again, "I should get going." He told him, sitting back into his own seat. He actually hadn't realised how far he was leaning into Billy's space until he'd leaned back out of it.

Okay so his head was a little all over the place really. Aside from the fact that his brain was full of fog from the weed, this was the second time that Billy had actually kissed him. He'd let it happen this time though, he hadn't just stood frozen until Billy had stopped. He'd.. well, he hadn't participated, but he'd let it happen, and he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to make of that. It was a lot to try and think about right now when his mind wasn't exactly clear.

Billy just looked at him for a moment longer before he nodded, blinking as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Right.. yeah, go on." He said with a shrug, resting his hands on the steering wheel. The atmosphere hadn't exactly changed, but Steve could tell that it was probably going to get very awkward very quickly, and so he figured the best thing to do was probably to make himself scarce rather than hanging around for much longer. So he did just that, getting out of the car before walking around to the other side where his own car was parked. He stopped just before he got in though, glancing back at Billy, "I uh.. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said with a shrug, and Billy looked back up at him,

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, pretty boy."

  
**3.**

The third time it happened, Steve had hurt himself.

They were at basketball practice after school, and of course the game was full of its usual carry on. Not that he'd expected anything different, considering things seemed to have gone back to normal between himself and Billy.

After that weird moment in Billy's car a little over two weeks ago, he wasn't entirely sure if he should try and approach the subject with the younger boy, to try and figure out what the hell was going on. As the facts stood, Billy had now kissed him twice. He would have assumed that it was some sort of ploy to wind him up, that he was just trying to taunt him, if it hadn't been for Billy's actual behaviour both times it had happened. He'd gone quiet afterwards, seemingly not all too happy with the fact that Steve had left both times straight afterwards, but he just.. he wasn't sure what else he was supposed to do!

Not that Steve had had to worry about it for much longer though, because Billy had gone back to his old behaviours a couple of days after the evening they'd been in his car.

He seemed to be perfectly happy to go back to taunting Steve in school, to pretend that he hadn't kissed him twice by now. That was fine by Steve though, because it meant that he could go back to acting like the younger boy was an inconvenience to him, which, really.. he sort of was.

As for right now though, they were at practice, and everything had gone back to the way it used to be.

As usual, they were playing just a practice game of shirts and skins, and he was wearing a t-shirt while Billy was bare chested. His own t- shirt was damp with sweat though, his hair sticking to his forehead. Billy didn't seem to be faring out much better, his own hair matted with sweat and sticking to the back of his neck. It was a tough game, he knew they both tended to give it their all when they were on opposite teams, a somewhat desperate need hanging between them to play better than the other.

Naturally, as soon as Steve had ducked in to swipe the ball from Dylan, Billy was right there behind him, crowding up behind him in an attempt to get the ball from him. Anyone else though would have just done what Steve did - grab the ball and then take off as soon as he had. Billy obviously liked to drag it out though, to wind Steve up as far as possible before getting back to the game,

"You're still playing like shit, Harrington. Gotta get your head in the game." He told him from where he was pressed against Steve's back, a hand gripping at his elbow to keep him from getting too far away,

"So that's why my team is winning then, is it?" He gritted out as he pushed back against Billy. It was hard not to think of how the younger boy was basically grinding back against him, but it was all just part of the game,

"Uh huh, and how many of those points have you scored?"

Okay so that was fair, Steve knew he hadn't been playing the best lately but he had other more important things to be thinking about. Billy was a hell of a player too which didn't help, he had the strength and the skill behind him, whereas Steve was just a little quicker.

"Jesus, do you ever stop talking?" He asked as he jerked his elbow out of Billy's grip, although that seemed to be a mistake on his behalf, because as soon as he had; Billy shoved him slightly to the side and had delivered an elbow of his own to Steve's breastbone, and he ended up crashing to the ground. He went to drag himself back to his feet to rejoin the game, but a familiar sharp pain in his shoulder stopped him from doing so.

Nah, that was it, he was done.

He reached his other hand back to press his fingers into the sore joint, shaking his head when the coach blew his whistle to stop the game before approaching him, "I'm out." He told him as the coach helped him to his feet.

"You gotta get that seen to by an actual doctor, Harrington." The coach told him, clapping a hand on his uninjured side. Steve just shrugged in response, giving him a slightly sheepish smile, "It's alright, I'll be fine in a day or two." He told him. Well yeah, it was nothing to be too concerned about. He had a bad muscle in his shoulder, an injury that had never healed totally properly after he'd broken his shoulder a few years back.

"Hargrove, take fifteen. Take Harrington to the nurses office." The coach called over to the younger boy, and Billy just rolled his eyes.

He did what he was told though, grabbing a t-shirt from the bench and dragging it on before he followed over to Steve, "Well c'mon then."

They walked out of the gym together, and Steve gave Billy a one shouldered shrug once they got to the locker room, "I don't need to go to the nurse, I'm fine."

"What happened out there?"

"I've got a weak muscle in my shoulder. I broke it a few years ago and took the sling off before I should've, guess it just didn't heal properly. It's fine most of the time, it's just when I take a hard hit that it goes. It'll be fine in like.. two days."

"Should you really be playing basketball with that?"

"Probably not. But like I said, it's fine until I take a hard hit."

It wasn't a big deal really, it didn't interfere with his day to day life, and it didn't even hurt most of the time. Like he said, it was only when he went down hard on it like this that it started to bother him, or he slept funny on it or something.

Billy just regarded him for a moment, a slight frown crossing his face as he did. If Steve was being honest, it made him a little uneasy actually; just because he had no idea what the younger boy was thinking. Since he was being an asshole again, he wouldn't have put it past him to give him another shove, hurt him properly and keep him out of the game a little longer.

"You ever get it massaged?" He asked eventually, and Steve just looked at him. He had to admit, that wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting Billy to ask.

"Have I.. what?"

"Gotten it massaged. You said it was the muscle, right? Massages help with muscular pain."

"Yeah, I know that. But uh.. no, I never bothered."

At that, Billy pointed to the bench in the middle of the locker room, tugging Steve over to it by the good elbow, "Alright, sit."

"What, right now?"

"No, next week.. yeah, stupid, right now. I know what I'm doing, chill out." He told him as he continued to pull him over to the bench.

Eventually, Steve figured there was no point in arguing. What the hell did he have to lose? And besides, his shoulder really did hurt, so maybe a massage would do it some good. So he just sat on the bench, a leg either side of it, and he tried not to take too much notice when Billy straddled the bench just behind him, sliding up close enough for his knees to bracket Steve in a little.

"I can get a better feel if you take your shirt off." He told him, and Steve definitely didn't choke at that. Not even a little bit. Ignoring Billy's huff of laughter, he rolled his eyes as he just did what he was told, pulling his t-shirt off as quickly as he could without straining his shoulder.

Once he did that, he relaxed a little when Billy coaxed him back slightly, biting his lip gently when he felt the younger boy's fingers pressing into his skin. He didn't go too hard, not hard enough to hurt like Steve had been expecting, but with just enough pressure to work out his sore muscles. He didn't start at his shoulders though, he first pressed his fingers into his lower back, just slightly higher than where the waistband of his gym shorts sat. After that, he slowly worked his fingers higher up his back, working out any of the knots he found along the way.

"Jesus, how much stress are you under, pretty boy? Your back is full of knots." He murmured as he worked a particularly difficult one out that sat just on the right side of his ribcage.

Steve just arched into his touch a little, and he was pretty sure that he surprised them both when a moan slipped past his lips once Billy eventually broke the knot down. He froze once he realised what he'd done, and he could feel Billy's fingers pausing where they were pressed into his skin. For a moment neither of them moved, until Billy chuckled softly under his breath, "Should I keep going or are you getting a little too excited?" He asked, and Steve rolled his eyes, "Don't be an asshole. Keep going."

Thankfully, Billy didn't argue, and he just went back to digging his fingers into the muscles of Steve's back. When he got to his hurt shoulder, Steve couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be paying a little more attention to what he was doing. Obviously he was giving the muscle a good working over, but he seemed to be taking a little more care not to hurt him too. It felt pretty good though, and it wasn't long before he was leaning back into his touch again.

Before he knew it though, Billy had seemed to have done all he could do, and he clapped Steve gently on the shoulder, "Alright, all done, pretty boy. How does that feel?" He asked.

Steve rolled his shoulders experimentally, surprised to find that the muscles had loosened considerably and that sharp shooting pain in his shoulder had dulled a little. If he was being honest though, his whole body felt a little looser after that. It was a good feeling though, he hadn't realised how tightly wound he'd obviously been before that.

"Yeah, I'm good actually. Really good. Thanks for that.." He murmured, his voice trailing off a little when he glanced back over his shoulder at the younger boy to find him still sitting as close as he had been, his knees still pressed to the sides of Steve's thighs where they sat.

Billy was just watching him with a somewhat unreadable expression on his face, his hands resting in his own lap now, and Steve wasn't sure why he was itching to feel them pressed into his skin again. It didn't escape his notice either how Billy's eyes dropped down to his mouth for a moment before looking back up at him, and in the next moment, he'd leaned forward to press their lips together.

It was a somewhat awkward angle though, with Billy sitting so close behind him and Steve craning his neck back over his shoulder. Probably not the best angle with his injured muscle, but how and ever.

This was the first of their kisses so far that Steve had actually participated in - the first time he had just stood there frozen until Billy had stopped kissing him, and the second time he'd been too stoned to do much more than sit there and let Billy kiss him. So he wasn't sure why he found himself kissing him back this time, why he let Billy coax his lips apart until he could meet the younger boy's tongue with his own.

He was about to twist around on the bench to give them a better angle before the door to the locker room opened and they sprung apart, both of them looking in the direction of the door that had just opened. It was just one of the other boys though, Daniel, and he hadn't seemed to notice that he'd interrupted anything. Probably better off actually, cause Steve really wasn't sure what they were supposed to have said if they'd been caught,

"Oh, thought you guys were at the nurses office. We could use you back out there, Hargrove, we're being flattened." Daniel said as he grabbed a towel, and Billy just glanced in Steve's direction, a questioning look on his face,

"Yeah, go on." Steve answered to his unasked question, dragging his t-shirt back on over his head, "I'm just gonna head home anyway."

He supposed it was a small mercy that Billy didn't argue, that he didn't insist on taking him home or anything, because he really wasn't sure what would have happened if he had - and he wasn't about to start thinking about it either.

"Alright.. see you tomorrow, princess." He said with a grin as he headed back out to the gym, and Steve just rolled his eyes - and if he had to fight to keep the small smile off his face, well then that was his business.

  
**4.**

The fourth time it happened, Steve was arguing with Nancy.

He hadn't exactly spoken much to her since they had broken up, except for the odd word here and there in school. It was fine actually, he preferred it that way. She had broken his heart, so he wasn't all that eager to suddenly start being best friends with her. Aside from that though, she hadn't shown up to school for a couple of days, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't a coincidence that Jonathan had skipped those few days too. He wasn't stupid, it wasn't hard to put two and two together and assume that they had been together, wherever they had been. Especially not when Tommy had been taunting him about it in the gym showers, Billy just observing the two of them.

That was another thing, ever since the impromptu massage Billy had given him in the locker room, the younger boy had actually been a little nicer to him. He still taunted him and did his best to wind him up, but he'd lost some of the nastiness in it.

Not that he'd ever admit it, but he sort of liked Billy's company, now that they were getting along better.

They hadn't kissed since that day in the locker room, but they'd been.. well, not quite hanging out, but Billy tended to linger now and again when they talked, and Steve didn't exactly do his best to drive him away. If they sat at the same table for lunch occasionally, it was just a coincidence. Just like it was a coincidence how when Steve had mentioned the other day that he had to walk to school the next day because his car was being serviced, that Billy had happened to be driving down his road just as Steve was leaving his house, so he'd insisted that he drive him into school. It was little things like that. They weren't friends exactly, they were just okay with each other's company - and there was maybe the slight promise of something else there too. Not that they talked about it or anything though.

Right now though, he was yawning as he walked through the corridor of the school, aiming towards the main door so that he could head home. The corridor had mostly emptied out by now, just the last few stragglers still at their lockers. He'd been a little late because he was talking to one of his teachers about a pop-quiz they'd had yesterday - he'd just about scraped through it, but it was whatever. He passed Nancy and Jonathan on his way out, and he had been barely been paying them any attention until he picked up on Nancy's hushed whispering, "Jonathan, I'm serious. I think we have enough for it to sound believeable. People deserve to know what's been going on in this town."

He stopped, raising his eyebrows as he turned back to them, "Tell me I'm losing my mind, that I'm not hearing what I think I'm hearing?" He asked, looking over at her, and she just raised her own eyebrows in response,

"People deserve to know, Steve."

"I thought you got what you wanted? It was in the paper the other day that a chemical leak killed Barb, her parents got their closure, isn't that what you wanted?"

"They were a told a lie! Yeah those bastards at the lab are being held accountable for their actions, but it's still all a lie. We watered it down like Murray told us to, but.. people deserve to know what's been really going on."

He ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head in disbelief as he listened to her. He couldn't believe this. He had put two and two together when the papers had started reporting on Barb's death - it wasn't hard to guess that Nancy and Jonathan had been off getting evidence together or whatever the hell they had been doing, she had always been a meddler.

"Nance, people knowing isn't going to bring Barb back. Her parents got their closure, and it's not gonna bring her back. What it is gonna do though is get us killed. You know it won't be swept under the rug if you start talking, you're gonna get us all in trouble."

"Steve-"

"No, listen. It's not just the three of us. It's the kids, it's Joyce and Hopper, it's your damn family. You want them coming down on Holly for this?" He asked, and she just rolled her eyes in response, "They won't go that far."

"You don't think so?" He asked, folding his arms, "I don't wanna take that risk, I don't want them coming down on me, or you, or the kids, for this.. and they will. They didn't make us sign all those non-disclosures for no reason, Nancy" He hissed, before looking to the side when an arm dropped down around his shoulders.

"There a problem here?" Billy asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked between Steve and Nancy. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. As much as he'd admitted to himself that he enjoyed Billy's company nowadays, this just.. it really wasn't the time.

"No, Billy, there's no problem"

"And we're having a conversation here, if you don't mind." Nancy interjected, and Billy just shook his head, "No, I don't mind. Carry on." He said with a smile - the picture of innocence - and Steve had to suppress a smile of his own. He was pretty sure Nancy was about to implode any second, but it seemed Billy was determined to stay put.

"Steve?" She muttered, turning her attention back on Steve when Billy just stayed where he was, an arm still slung around Steve's shoulders.

Steve was about to answer her when Billy cut in first, and the slight change in his attitude made Steve a little nervous actually. He'd forgotten lately that Billy could actually be dangerous, that he wasn't all bark and no bite. He was pretty sure he wouldn't actually have a real go at Nancy, but he wouldn't put it past her - it wasn't like she'd never slapped him before.

"Listen here, Wheeler. Steve isn't your lapdog anymore, got it? He's not yours to order around like you own him, so back off."

She looked a little speechless actually, that Billy had spoken to her like that, but it didn't take her long to recover, and she narrowed her eyes as she looked between the two of them, "Is that why you're acting like he's your lapdog? He doesn't need you to fight his battles, so why don't you back off with the alpha male bullshit?" She snapped.

Billy just laughed, raising his eyebrows, "Shit, Wheeler.. you got a little fire in you. I'm starting to see what these two saw in you after all."

"Hey.. seriously, man. Back off." Jonathan interjected, taking a step towards Billy, and Steve had had enough.

"Alright, shut up, the three of you! This conversation is over." He told them, indicating between the four of them, "Billy, this really isn't a good time right now, okay?" He asked, his eyes pleading as he looked over at the younger boy. It seemed that Billy finally realised that he was being serious, because his face softened slightly as he watched Steve before he nodded, "Alright, okay."

A grin quickly replaced the soft look on his face though, and before Steve got a chance to ask what it was about, Billy leaned over to smack a wet kiss to his lips. It only lasted a second, and it was over before he knew it.. but Nancy and Jonathan definitely hadn't missed it. He had a feeling that it was totally for their benefit though, that Billy had done it purely to piss Nancy off.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, pretty boy." He said with a grin, before turning his attention on the other two, "Wheeler, Byers." He muttered, flashing the pair a wink before leaving them to it.

Nancy rounded on him again once Billy had gone, "What the hell was that about?" She asked, her eyes narrowed again, and Steve could only shrug, "It's nothing, Nance. You know he was only winding you up." He told her, holding his arms out. Well yeah, that was all he could say really. It wasn't like he was about to tell her everything that had happened, that that was the fourth time now that Billy had kissed him. It was better that she wasn't aware of all that.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Look, I gotta go, just.. please don't say anything, please?" He asked.

She still looked pretty fired up, but she eventually sighed, and Steve didn't miss the way her shoulders slumped a little, "Okay.. you're right, it's not a good idea." She said with a shrug, and Steve could feel the relief flood through him,

"Thank you."

"Just, Steve.. be careful, okay? With whatever the hell is going on with you and Hargrove."

"I will, Nance. I promise."

  
**5.**

The fifth time it happened, Steve was in Billy's house.

Billy hadn't even been on his mind much that day, he'd been busy trying to get through a book that they'd been assigned for English class - an Irish novel called 'How Many Miles to Babylon' - and while he was actually enjoying the book, it was a tough read. But anyway, as usual, he'd left it pretty late and now he was supposed to write an essay on it that was due by the end of the week, and he still hadn't even finished the book.

So that was where he found himself at lunch, his tray with his mystery meat lunch forgotten about on the table while he tried to get through the book. Like he'd said though, he was enjoying it, so he was so engrossed in the book that he hadn't noticed Billy approaching him until he dropped his own tray of food on the table in front of him, startling Steve, "Jesus.. warn a guy." He groused, before rolling his eyes when Billy plucked the book out of his hands, "Billy, c'mon, I need to finish this."

Billy just flicked through a couple of pages, before glancing back up at Steve, "I read it a couple years ago, it's a good book. Sad, though."

"Well, I left it until last minute like an idiot and I've got to write an essay on it by Friday, so can you give it back?"

"What's the essay on?" Billy asked, and Steve sighed as he dug his journal out of his bag to find the title of the essay that they had been given, reading it out to Billy once he'd found it, "In the beginning of the novel, Alec says 'I love no living person'. From your reading of the novel, do you think that this is true? Explain your answer with reference to the text."

When he'd finished reading it out, he looked back up at Billy to find the younger boy just watching him, his eyebrows raised, "What?" He asked, and Billy just shrugged, "Well? What d'you think?"

"Well I think he's full of shit."

"Why?"

"I don't know, cause I haven't finished reading the book yet." He told him, swiping the book back out of Billy's hand. If he was being honest, he wasn't sure he'd actually manage to finish the book and get the essay written by Friday, considering it was Tuesday now. He was trying, but he just.. English wasn't exactly his best subject. He wasn't stupid - he'd deck anyone who said that he was - but he was dyslexic, and so even when he didn't leave it until last minute, he found it hard enough trying to get through a book and write an essay on it. So yeah, he'd try his best, but he wasn't being totally optimistic about it.

Billy just hummed, twisting the stem of his apple until he was able to pull it out of the apple, "D'you wanna come over to mine later?" He asked, glancing back up at Steve.

He was pretty sure that he was never going to stop being blindsided by Billy and the things that came out of his mouth. Just when he was pretty sure that he was starting to figure the younger boy out, he'd come out with something like that, "Do I.. what?"

"You still got a pretty big chunk of that book to get through, and it's a big ask to get it finished and get an essay written on it by Friday. So if you want, you can come over to mine and I can run through it with you, summarise the book a little and I'll help you get an outline together for your essay."

Steve was pretty surprised actually, that Billy was willing to give up an evening of his time to help him with an essay that - realistically - he should have been almost finished writing by now. He certainly wasn't going to complain about it though, he found that he didn't mind the younger boys company as much as he would have about two months ago. Plus.. there was also the point that Billy kept kissing him. As unwelcome as it had been the first time, he also found that he didn't have that much of a problem with it anymore.

So he nodded, giving him a small smile, "That would be great, actually. What time?"

"Seven?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

If he was being honest, by the time it got to quarter to seven, he wasn't really sure what he was expecting.

He'd used that line on girls before - 'come over to mine and we'll study' - but it had always just been a line, and he was pretty sure any girl he'd used it on before had been totally aware of the fact that it was a line. So he just.. he wasn't sure if that was the case here, if Billy was just using it as an excuse to get him to come over. Like he'd said though, it wasn't like he exactly minded Billy kissing him anymore, he was just a little concerned about what else would happen if they were left to their own devices for long enough in Billy's room.

Not that he was expecting anything one way or another, but he was pretty sure there was no harm in sticking a condom in his bag before he left, just in case.

It seemed he was overthinking things as usual though, because apparently Billy was planning for them to actually just study. Not that he was all too surprised though, he knew that Billy was basically a straight A student, so it wasn't all that surprising that he actually did study.

He gave the younger boy a small smile when answered the door, a quick glance at his watch telling him that it was ten past seven. That wasn't too bad, at least he didn't look too over eager or anything.

"Hey, pretty boy. Welcome to Casa Hargrove." Billy greeted as he stepped into the house. He wasn't sure really what he'd been expecting from Billy's house, but it was just.. normal, really. It looked a little homier though, more so than his own which just felt a little clinical at times. Although he supposed having a kid around probably helped.

"My room is through here, c'mon. Did you bring your book?" He asked, and Steve nodded, "Yeah, I got pens and all."

"Good, I did a quick outline of the book already, so I figured we could just put together an outline of your essay from that, get a few key points together."

"Uh.. yeah, thanks."

They walked through to Billy's room, the younger boy dropping down on the bed immediately once they had gotten there, flicking through the notebook he'd left there.

"Its not much, really." Billy murmured, maybe a little quiet, when he noticed that Steve was glancing around his room. Steve just looked back at him, biting his lip gently, "No, it's nice. Really." He told him, giving him a small smile. It was exactly the sort of room he'd expect Billy to have actually. Bare enough, except for the few posters on the wall, the weight kit in the corner of the room. It seemed he'd tried to tidy up a little before Steve came over though, if the bin full of smoke butts and empty beer cans was anything to go by.

Billy just smiled back, patting the bed next to him, "Well come on, sit. There's a lot to get through." He told him.

So Steve just did what he was told, sitting next to Billy and rummaging through his bag for the book and his notebook. He looked back up at him once he was settled, taking the notes that Billy passed to him - and okay, when Billy had said that he'd put together an outline of the book, he wasn't expecting it to be as extensive as it was. There were bullet points, highlighted sections, there was even a little spider diagram in the corner. Glancing up at Billy with an eyebrow raised, the younger boy just gave him a slightly sheepish smile, "I had a lot of free time earlier."

Steve just huffed a soft breath of laughter under his breath, scanning through the bullet points as quickly as he could, "Wait.. Alec kills Jerry in the end?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked back up at Billy, who just shrugged,

"Jerry gets arrested for desertion and is sentenced to face a firing squad, so Alec kills him first."

"Right.."

"So do you still think Alec meant it when he said he didn't love anybody?"

"Well, I mean.. he did kill him."

"As an act of kindness though, so that Jerry didn't have to face the firing squad.. Come on, let's run through the main points and start putting together a structure for the essay." Billy told him, taking Steve's notebook.

They worked together for a little over two hours, taking down important points and putting together a structure for the essay. By the time they heard the front door slamming, they basically had the essay written - it just needed to be fleshed out. Billy looked up when they heard the door though, before looking down at his watch, "Shit, what time is it?" He asked, before cursing softly under his breath when he realised that it was after nine, "Shit, shit, shit. Just, uh.. stay here for a second." He told him, before going out to the front room.

As curious as he was about what the hell that had just been about, Steve did what he was told and just stayed put. He did creep a little closer to the bedroom door though, just to hear what was going on,

"Hey, dad." He could hear Billy saying, followed by who he guessed was Neil Hargrove, "Have you another one of your whores in there?"

"What? No, dad. He's a friend, we're studying."

"And you couldn't study in the kitchen? Convenient that you'd have your 'friend' over to study in the bedroom while Susan and I were out." Neil snapped, and Steve could only hear silence from Billy,

"I thought you learned your lesson after last time? After what happened last time I caught you doing that fag shit under my roof."

"Dad! I promise, we were just studying."

"Get rid of him. Even if there's nothing I can do about you, I won't have that shit going on in my house."

"Dad, please. We were ju-" Billy was cut off by the sound of what Steve was pretty sure was a slap, although he really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do from in here. He was pretty sure he'd only make it worse if he went out there and got in Neil's face about slapping Billy.

"I mean it, get him out of here." Neil snarled again, followed by only silence again from Billy.

After a moment, the younger boy came back into the bedroom, although his cheeks were flushed from what Steve could only guess was embarrassment, and he looked like he was fighting back tears. He looked like he was seething with anger too though, and Steve really didn't know what he was supposed to do about that. Billy quickly plastered a smile on though, although it was obvious from a mile away how forced it was, "I'm gonna have to cut this study session short, pretty boy. We got through a good bit though, so hopefully that's enough to get you started." He said with a shrug, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Steve was a little speechless, actually. How the hell could Billy just.. pretend that everything was fine after what he had just heard? He'd pieced it together from things that Max had let slip that they didn't have a great home life, but he certainly hadn't imaged that it would have been this bad.

"Billy.. what the hell was that?" He asked, and he didn't miss how Billy's smile faltered a little, as though he hadn't actually expected Steve to ask,

"It was nothing."

"That was clearly not nothing. Billy, that's not okay."

Billy just looked at him, a hint of something desperate on his face. God, he'd thought that he had it bad because his parents were never around, but he couldn't imagine what it must be like to have to walk on eggshells around his own home because of how his dad treated him. It struck him then that he didn't really know all that much about Billy. From the outside, it looked like the younger boy was just a dick with a bad attitude and a chip on his shoulder, but he'd never imagined that this was what was going on behind closed doors. It was obvious now that he was hurting over this whole thing, even if he was still trying his best not to show it.

Taking a step closer to Billy, he tentatively reached out and touched his hip, and he didn't miss the way Billy flinched back slightly from the action, glancing quickly in the direction of the door. Right, there'd only be trouble if Neil happened to see that. It made him wonder though, what had happened last time Neil caught him 'doing that fag shit' as he'd put it - what he'd done to Billy.

"Look, it's nothing. I can handle it."

"You shouldn't have to handle that, you shouldn't have to put up with that shit. It's not o-"

Billy stepped forward to press a quick kiss to Steve's lips, his fingertips brushing briefly against Steve's jawline as he did. It was so different to any of their previous kisses - this one was quick and chaste, and Steve had a feeling that it was to shut him up more than anything. After a moment, he pressed their lips together in another soft kiss, although this one was just as brief, if a little more affectionate.

"Please, Steve. Just go, I'll be fine.. please."

Steve just nodded, sighing a little. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to argue with that, how he was supposed to refuse to leave when Billy was basically begging him to go, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow though?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

They quickly gathered up Steve's stuff and he shoved it into his bag, hoisting it up onto his shoulder as they walked out of the bedroom. On the way to the front door, he glanced over to see Neil sitting at the kitchen table, watching them both with a scrutinising expression on his face, "Mr. Hargrove." He greeted with a polite nod, although Neil just ignored him, turning his attention on Billy instead, "Billy, I'm sure your friend can walk himself to the door. Susan could use a hand with the dishes, don't you think?" He asked, and Billy just nodded, although he wasn't quite making eye contact with either Steve or Neil,

"Yes, sir. See you tomorrow, Steve." He murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets again.

As little as Steve wanted to just go and leave Billy here, he knew it would only make things worse for Billy in the long run if he made a scene, so he just nodded, "Yeah, bye." He said with a weak attempt at a smile before letting himself out.

He was barely able to breathe until he got to his own car, and he took a shaky breath once he was sitting behind the wheel. He was almost afraid to imagine what was happening in that house right now, but he just.. there was nothing he was able to do about it now. The best he could hope for was that Neil didn't think anything more of it and just left Billy alone for the evening.

He didn't exactly want to consider the alternative.

  
**+1.**

The next time that it happened, it was Steve who kissed Billy.

He was at the highschool snowball dance, and honestly? He'd really only gone because he'd promised his mother that he would go. His parents were home at the moment, and he knew that his mother could tell that something was going on.

Over the last couple of weeks, everything had been pretty awful. It had turned out that little Will Byers odd behaviour lately had been due to the fact that he'd been possessed by what the kids had been referring to as the Mind Flayer. It was gone now, El had closed the gate and he had burned those tunnels with the rest of the kids, but he just.. he was pretty sure that he'd be having nightmares about those tunnels and demodogs for the rest of his life.

So yeah; he'd promised his mother that he'd go to the dance and that he'd try to have a good time - if to just try and regain some sense of normalcy. Obviously his mother didn't know what had really been going on, but she knew there was something going on with him.

If he was being honest though, he was having a pretty shitty evening. He didn't have too many friends left in highschool, so it wasn't like he was mister popularity at the dance. Nancy looked pretty too in her dress, hair tightly curled and piled on top of her head. She only had eyes for Jonathan though, and he sighed as he watched them dancing. It was fine, he was pretty sure he could say that he was over her by now.

It was just.. he wasn't exactly on speaking terms right now with the person he really wanted to dance with tonight.

The night that they had gone down to the tunnels, the only reason that the kids had managed to get him down there was because he was unconscious - because he'd been beaten unconscious by Billy.

He had no idea what that night had been about, but he just.. he wasn't sure he even wanted to know. They'd been at the Byers' house, and he'd been arguing with the kids about going down to the tunnels to distract the demodogs - because no, they were definitely going to die if they did that - when Billy had shown up, guns blazing. At first he'd just taunted Steve about hiding Max away here, but things had turned nasty when they actually got inside the house and of course it had escalated into a fight. It was whatever though, a fight was a fight, but Billy had crossed a line when he'd smashed a plate over Steve's head. He hadn't really been able to get his feet back under him after that, and Billy just.. he hadn't stopped. He'd beaten Steve until he was unconscious, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up in the Camaro with Max behind the wheel, a headache that felt like it was about to split his skull in two, and Billy nowhere to be seen.

So yeah, they weren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment.

He glanced up from the glass of punch he was nursing - non-alcoholic of course, since it was a school dance - when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Nancy of course, and she gave him a small smile, which he did his best to return, "Hey, Nance."

"Hey.. are you okay?" She asked, and he just nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just chilling."

"Do you wanna dance?"

"Not really, no."

Well yeah, he didn't want to dance here with Nancy and pretend that everything was how it had been three months ago when he and Nancy were still together, when she was still pretending that she loved him. It still hurt a little to think about but he was pretty sure he was over it by now. It was the situation with Billy that hurt more to think about now.

"I'm gonna get some air, actually. Kinda stuffy in here." He told her, trying his best to plaster on another small smile for her before getting up from his seat.

He just went outside, walking around the side of the building to avoid the people that were coming in and out. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world actually if he just got in his car and drove off somewhere, maybe hung out at the quarry or whatever until it was an acceptable time to head home, pretend to his mom that he'd been at the dance the whole time. It wasn't like he was expecting to miss much.

When he got around the side of the building, he sighed when he realised there was somebody already leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette, and that that person was Billy.

Great, exactly what he wanted right now.

Billy had already noticed him though, and he bit his lip gently as he looked over at Steve, his eyes wide and maybe a little unsure, "Steve.."

"Billy." He muttered back, putting his hands in his pockets as he leaned back against the wall. He really didn't want to do this right now, but he knew it would only look obvious if he turned on his tail now and went back inside. Besides, he meant what he said about needing a little fresh air. He just wished he'd brought his own smokes with him though, for something to do with his hands even.

"How have you been?" Billy asked, tentative, and Steve couldn't help but scoff and roll his eyes,

"Why would you care how I've been?"

"I care."

"Well you don't get to care, alright? Not after that night."

"Steve.."

"No, don't give me that. The kids thought I was dead, did you know that? They thought that you had actually killed me." He snarled, turning to face Billy. Parts of that night were a little hazy, but he remembered Dustin coming to him after the dust had settled, while he was cleaning himself up properly. The kid had just wanted to check up on him, and he'd admitted that they hadn't even known if he was alive or not when they'd hauled him into the Camaro.

Billy was silent though, looking down at his boots as he scuffed the toe of one of them along the ground, and his silence just pissed Steve off even further than he already was, "I don't know why I bother.. you could at least say something."

"What d'you want me to say?"

"Well maybe that you're sorry, for one?"

"You know I am."

"No, Billy, I don't. I never know what you're thinking because you're so hot and cold with me all the damn time. I thought you hated me and then you started kissing me. And then when we've actually been getting along, you turn around and beat me half to death. A fight is one thing, but you smashed a damn plate over my head."

His face had mostly healed from that night, the only physical reminder he had of it was a thin pink line running up into his hairline where Billy had hit him with the plate. It hadn't totally healed yet, but he was pretty sure that it was going to be a permanent scar.

"Well I am sorry, okay? That night was such a fucking mistake and not a day has passed since that I don't wish I could take it all back."

Steve just looked at him, searching Billy's face for any sort of indication that he was lying, that he was full of shit and didn't really mean his apology. Surprisingly though, he didn't find one. He wasn't sure what the hell he was supposed to think though. Like he'd said, Billy was always so hot and cold with him that he never knew what to expect from the younger boy.

"Talk to me, Billy. What the hell was that night about?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It kinda does. Things were good between us for a while there, so can you at least give me a decent reason for why you fucked that up?"

Billy just sighed again, dropping his cigarette butt on the ground and grinding it under his boot. He seemed reluctant to talk, but Steve just.. he needed to know. Like he'd said, things had been good, he'd grown to sort of like the younger boy, and then Billy had thrown all of that away when he'd tried to grind him into dust.

Eventually Billy sighed, running his hands through his hair, "It was my dad." He started, glancing over at Steve before turning away from him again, "I had plans that night but Maxine went missing, climbed out her window and I didn't notice. My dad came home and laid into me about how I was supposed to be watching her, even though I'd been watching her all damn week 'cause he wasn't around. He hit me before he dragged me out the door to to find her. Then I found her and you just.. you lied about her being there, and I knew Neil would kill me if I went home without her." He stopped again, shoving his hands quickly into his pockets, but Steve had still seen the shaking of his hands before he had, "I was just so angry, and it wasn't about you at all but I couldn't stop myself."

"Billy.."

"You have no idea how fucking sorry I am, Steve. I.. I hate that I did that to you, and that I manage to fuck up every good thing I've got going for me."

"Look, it's n-"

"I lost control that night, and it doesn't make it okay but just.. please believe that I'm sorry, that I regret everything that happened that night. My life is one big shit-fest, and you deserve better than to have to deal with that."

They were quiet again after Billy stopped talking, and Steve just looked over at the younger boy. He looked.. well, Steve couldn't exactly tell what Billy was feeling. He looked angry, but hurt too - like the thought that he'd driven Steve away was upsetting him more than he was trying to let on. Steve knew that he should walk away, that he should go back inside and try to enjoy the rest of the dance. He knew he should walk away from Billy for good, because like he'd said - there was a lot of shit going on, that Steve wasn't sure how to deal with. There was something holding him here though, and he just.. he could feel the fight drain out of him as he looked over at Billy, watching how the younger boy was trying his best to mask his hurt.

"Look.." He sighed, biting his lip gently, "I can't say I totally forgive you. My looks are about all I've got going for me, so I'm still a little pissed that you messed up this pretty face, probably permanently" He shrugged, indicating to the scar in his hairline, "But I guess people say scars are hot, so y'know."

Billy just looked at him, his jaw still set into an angry line. There was a hint of something in his eyes though, disbelief, it looked like. Maybe a little bit of hope in there too.

Steve just sighed, giving him a small smile, "Come on, lighten up. We're okay."

"Why the hell would we be okay? Why would you still want anything to do with me after this?"

"Shit, Billy, I don't know. 'Cause I like you, okay? I shouldn't, but I do. And that night was awful, and I'm out for good if anything like that happens again, but I missed having you around. I didn't think I would, but I had you in my life for a little while there, and I just.. I've realised that now I don't like not having you in it. You're not a bad person, you're someone who's had a tough time of it and you've done some really shitty things. But I.. I like you anyway."

Billy was still just looking at him, although the angry look had dropped off his face into something more open, more vulnerable looking. It maybe tugged on Steve's heartstrings a little to see him look so.. disbelieving, at the fact that he'd just admitted that he liked him and that he wanted him back in his life. Eventually Billy ducked his head a little, a hint of a smile on his face,

"Shit, Harrington.. I like you too."

Steve smiled, putting his own hands in the pockets of his suit trousers. He maybe felt like they were starting to get somewhere, but he was just glad really that Billy didn't look as angry or as defensive as he had a moment ago. He glanced back in the direction of the gym hall when the music changed - he was pretty sure the song was 'Wonderful Tonight' by Eric Clapton - and he knew that the hall would be full of couples slow dancing. He was pretty glad that he'd managed to avoid being in there for that, and yet.. here he was.

"Do you wanna dance with me?" He asked, looking back over at Billy, who seemed to retreat back into himself a little at Steve's question, his face becoming defensive again,

"I.. Steve, you saw what my dad was like at my house that time, you know what he'll do if he catches wind that I was in there dancing with a guy in front of everyone."

"Not in there. Just here, with me. Nobody else has to know."

Billy's face softened again at that, and Steve waited until the younger boy had nodded - if a little hesitantly - before he stepped forward, taking Billy's hands in his own. He coaxed Billy's arms around his waist, before wrapping his own around the other boy's neck. They didn't exactly dance so much as just sway from side together, and Steve smiled as he ducked down slightly to just rest his temple against Billy's shoulder, his nose lightly brushing against the side of his neck. It was nice to just have this, to know that he and Billy were on better terms again. He'd hated the animosity that had existed between them lately, especially when - like he'd said, he'd gotten used to having Billy in his life in a good way.

"I meant what I said, Harrington. I really do like you."

Steve just smiled a little, nudging his nose gently against Billy's neck again, "Me too. I guess I just.. I got used to having you around, I liked having you around. I never thought I'd find myself wanting a boyfriend, but it almost f-" He stopped when he realised what he'd said, biting his lip gently. Billy was quiet too, and he inwardly cursed himself for letting his mouth run away from him,

"Sorry, I-"

"You want me to be your boyfriend?"

"I'm talking shit, you kno-"

"Steve Harrington, my boyfriend.. I think I like the sound of that."

Steve pulled away slightly to just look at Billy, although his arms were still wound around the other boy's neck. He hadn't expected that, if he was being honest. He'd expected Billy to laugh at him, or to maybe even get pissed at him for suggesting such a thing. So it was definitely a surprise that they were actually on the same page about it,

"Yeah?" He asked, biting his lip gently.

"Yeah.. I'd like that."

Steve just closed the distance then to press their lips together in a firm kiss, winding his fingers into Billy's hair as he did. It crossed his mind briefly that this was the first time he had actually kissed Billy, all of the other times it had been the other boy that had initiated the kiss. He smiled a little against his lips when Billy pulled him closer, one of his hands sliding down to rest on Steve's ass as he licked into his mouth.

They parted after a moment, and Steve pressed another quick kiss to Billy's lips before they just settled against each other, Steve's back against the wall behind him.

"We can't tell anybody, you know that, right? Last time my dad found out I had a boyfriend, he moved our whole family halfway across the country, and I just.. I can't do that again."

"I know.. that's okay. Nobody else matters, it's just me and you, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Maybe it would become tougher over time to keep this a secret, to keep Billy a secret. He didn't doubt that it wouldn't be an easy ride, with Billy's temper and with the threat of Neil ever finding out about this, but he just.. none of that was important right now. They could worry about all of that when it came.

For now, Steve just smiled a little as he pressed his palm against Billy's cheek, pulling him in for another kiss.


End file.
